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Read This Before You Hire A Social Media Manager

It’s tough to hire a social media manager. I know because it is equally as tough being a good social media manager. There seems to be a disconnect, especially in the market I am in, between me(a social media manager) and business owners. So I figure it’s my job to sort of bridge that gap… so this is my best attempt at doing so. Here goes…

You Really Don’t Want To Hire A Social Media Manager

Say what? I know, I know, sounds strange but let me explain. If you are outsourcing your social media then you probably don’t have an in-house marketing team, hence no marketing strategy. What you need is a strategy. You need a social strategist or an internet marketing consultant.

Don’t think that you can hire a social media manager and they will create your branding, marketing, and social media strategy for $100/month. Let’s get real. Social media is a huge investment in time and if you are looking to outsource it, you should expect to pay.

You Need To Get Your Sh*t Together Beforehand

What message is your brand trying to get across, what is the culture of your company? What do you want to accomplish through social media? Are you doing anything else to grow your online presence such as blogging, SEO, email marketing?

Having a clear picture of your business and your goals are essential before even approaching a social media company. And if the person trying to get your business does not ask you questions about your biz and your marketing goals, then run! Chances are, they are not who you want running your social media campaign.

You Will Get What You Pay For

Buy a shirt from Walmart and you are guaranteed Walmart quality. It will be “new” for a while, you will see improvement and maybe a boost in your social media growth, but just like clothes purchased from Walmart, it won’t last. Why? because it takes time, money, lots of know how, and a great social strategist to create a prominent online presence.

Social media “experts” who promise you the moon and stars for pennies are either selling you a dream or they are seriously delusional about what results they can provide.

The Bigger Picture

The truth is, there is a bigger picture than just social media marketing. To create an online presence you will need a blog, great SEO, social media, email marketing, and even a little PR. Make sure that you are aware of this “bigger picture” and know that you will also need to invest time and money into these other areas as well… because without them, your online presence will not grow and will be limited.

Wouldn’t it be great to find a social strategist who not only saw the bigger picture but also could help you in those other areas as well?

How To Win Without Breaking The Budget

If you approached me and asked me for a quote to manage your social media i would probably take a deep breath and say, “it depends”. I have managed clients for anywhere between $200/month – $2000/month. What I do varies wildly on what your business requires and what my clients are willing to contribute to the process.

What I find is that most people are not willing to invest the time and/or money into creating a social media campaign that will catapult their business into online success and influence.

But you can win even on a small budget if you do one of two things:

invest your time managing your own social media(or delegating it to members of your team) using a strategy created by a strategist/consultant

come up with your own strategy and hiring out the daily labor to a social media manager or virtual assistant

If you have the budget then go for it. I always recommend, even to my clients, that they have someone in-house that can be a little hands on with helping to implement a social media campaign.

So what do you think? What are some things that you struggle with? How do you go about hiring a social media manager? If you are a social media manager how do you deal with clients that aren’t willing to contribute time or money to growing their online presence? Don’t be shy, leave a comment!

Love this! Often clients come to me wanting nothing but content with no marketing plan in place. I often suggest that rather than paying me a hefty retainer, it’s a better use of their budget to come up with a content strategy and editorial calendar & train someone in house to implement those strategies. Teach a man to fish…

You know Stephanie, I really wrote this for other social media managers. I know that others can relate to what I have gone through when dealing with clients. I have now resorted to just consulting. Because this way I am not going to set myself, or my clients, up for failure. Strategy is so important!!!

Without sound strategy, a business is destined to fail. A great advise for business owners who doesn’t want to spend on social media marketing but expect a dramatic inflow of clients from these sources… This is also one of the reasons why there are some social media people who are offering services at dirt cheap prices, like $5 for 20 thousand followers or likes…

You know Jun, no matter what anyone tells you, it costs to position yourself online! And without a strategy, you are dead in the water. Buying social media followers or presence does not equal returns and eventually will prove useless!

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